Weeks concedes that delaying Sam’s marriage took a bit of persuasion. “There was talk of a marriage to Foyle’s son Andrew (the R.A.F. pilot) as early as series three I think, but I fought with Anthony for years to allow Sam to remain a ‘spinster of the parish.’

On whale meat:

In one scene, food shortages reduce Sam and Adam to eating whale meat as a protein source. If she looks a bit queasy, admits Weeks, “it was because I had a very hard time not retching at the smell of those whale steaks sizzling in the pan.”

On Sam and Adam’s house:

The interiors of Sam’s house were shot in a former brewery the art department turned into a sound stage. “You could still smell that oddly yeasty aroma from the fermenting hops,” says Weeks.

And on Michael Kitchen!

Considering the seriousness of the subject matter, you might assume that the set of Foyle’s War was a reserved and quiet place, but Weeks assures it was not. “If you were to go into Michael Kitchen’s trailer at lunchtime you could hear him playing the classical guitar. Or, if we happened to be filming at some grand country house, you’d often hear him behind its equally grand piano.” …Weeks prizes her relationship with Kitchen. “He is a decidedly avuncular figure in my life and a person I often go to for professional advice.”

So that’s how MK passes the time in between takes. Doesn’t really dispel the notion of a reserved set — unless he was pounding out a rock tune… 🙂

Wonder if he had a go at this piano:

Playing the piano really should have been another one of Foyle’s pastimes.

Foyle’s unfinished business. Howard Paige should be scared, very scared.

I so wish they had had the budget to film in America and have the new series start with Paige’s comeuppance. I loved this episode and I loved Foyle’s ability to compromise without sacrificing his morals. – bplutchak, 3.23.13,

Foyle doesn’t typically wear gloves, preferring instead to keep his hands in his coat pockets, so it must have indeed been cold out on that windy airfield as Honeysuckle Weeks described in the Daily Mail:

We’re filming on an airfield today and there’s no protection from the biting wind. At this stage in the shoot everyone, including Michael, who’s normally impervious to heat or cold, is putting on every thermal layer available to them.

When interviewed during the filming of FW S8, Honeysuckle Weeks talked about driving with Michael Kitchen:

Michael is nervous – he always is when I’m driving. I’m told to drive at 35mph by the director. Michael suggests 25. I decide to stick at 30 but embarrass myself by kangaroo-hopping up the drive. ‘Tell you what,’ says Michael after the third take, ‘you do the steering wheel, I’ll change the gears. All right?’ ‘OK. Got it.’ It works a treat.

Since she’s driving considerably faster than 25 in this scene, I take it not a lot of acting was required on MK’s part! I wonder if he again helped shift gears, a skill he obviously does well.

In the S9 DVD featurette The Truth Behind the Fiction: High Castle, Anthony Horowitz said of this scene:

I wanted to see Foyle in front of a concentration camp. That was the single thought that sparked off the very first episode. It occurred to me that if Foyle was the epitome of good and decency in the period 1940 through to ’46, ’47, then it would be quite interesting to juxtapose him against the symbol of all evil.

Michael doesn’t just perform lines – he argues with me, fights with me, makes my life difficult, but always to make it better. He’s never asked for anything that hasn’t improved the script. He’ll look at five lines and say, “Anthony, I don’t need to say any of those lines. I can just do it with a look…” And it’s so irritating that he’s right.

The cover and page 2 of this month’s Tattenhall Parish News include photos and an article on the filming of Foyle’s War S9 in the village. Only one small photo each of HW and MK.

A couple more photos in this tweet. Video of the filming of MK and HW arriving at the electrical shop here. One lucky lady commented on facebook that she “was sitting in the post office window writing a birthday card when this was filmed and received a gorgeous smile from Michael Kitchen. …Michael has the most gorgeous smile – I was on cloud nine for the rest of the day.”